Set up with synology NAS drive
#1
Hello

I really need some help and advice. I've been reading up on the forums and every time I just sem to end up with more options! I'm after something to replace my Apple TV 2. It is to be used with my NAS drive and I'd like it to play 1080p and hd sound etc. I was thinking of an Android box but there doesn't seem to be much love for these so have then considered a raspberry pi or an NUC. I can spend around £150 and only need it to stream from the nas and not interested in the add-ons as my internet speed is very slow! Please can I have some tips or pointers as I'm driving myself crazy with all the different options! Thanks.
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#2
If you have a reasonably small library, and you don't care much for artwork or fancy skins with lots of UI options, a Pi is probably sufficient. If you don't mind spending a little more and get a decent system, a Chromebox is hard to beat in terms of value. The Ocean Turquoise HP Chromebox is currently going for only $142.88. It includes everything you need, all you need to do is some slight modding and you'll have an excellent XBMC box.
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#3
(2014-08-31, 09:46)mattay32 Wrote: Hello

I really need some help and advice. I've been reading up on the forums and every time I just sem to end up with more options! I'm after something to replace my Apple TV 2. It is to be used with my NAS drive and I'd like it to play 1080p and hd sound etc. I was thinking of an Android box but there doesn't seem to be much love for these so have then considered a raspberry pi or an NUC. I can spend around £150 and only need it to stream from the nas and not interested in the add-ons as my internet speed is very slow! Please can I have some tips or pointers as I'm driving myself crazy with all the different options! Thanks.

The Chromeboxes are £150 in the UK for the 4GB HP model. John Lewis had it listed (though can't see it today) - and other sites will no doubt be similar. The 2GB model is also fine for XBMC IME. I imported two to the UK - they are a brilliant OpenElec box. The PS3 Bluetooth remote works very well with them if you don't want an IR dongle sticking out.

HP have it on their online store http://store.hp.com/UKStore/Merch/Produc...9D05EA#ABU for the £150 price point.
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#4
A NUC DN2820 will do everything you want. With 4GB of memory and a 2.5" sata III 250Gb drive it'll cost you around £175 from ebuyer or scan.

Alternatively, a Pi complete with case, PSU and remote will cost you around £55.

The disadvantage with the Pi really only rests with skins. It'll play 1080p video no problem at all (if you want to play mpeg2 or vc1 you need to buy the licenses. Less than a fiver for the two !!). Navigation on my Pi is slow compared to my other machines, but I can live with this as I don't need to navigate that much with it. I'm not using it as my primary XBMC device and I don't need to scrape with it (I have a quad core server that handles all that).

The NUC has enough grunt to be able to handle the scraping and run heavy skins. It also has the advantage that you can choose which OS you want to run. If you only want XBMC then OpenELEC on either device is likely the best choice but if you want more flexibility, then a NUC will happily run Windows or a desktop Linux.

If I didn't already have a decent machine to do all the scraping and a shared MySQL library, and was looking to start out with XBMC, then I'd be looking at the NUC. My Pi is great and plays all of my content, but I wouldn't want it to be my main rig.
Learning Linux the hard way !!
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#5
The NUC N2820 has a lower power CPU/GPU than the 2955u in the Chromeboxes but has advantages in other areas.

The advantage of the NUC is the integrated IR receiver (you just need to source an RC6 remote), and the ability to use a 2.5" SATA HD (for greater local storage).

However the 2955U has a better spec GPU (10 execution units vs 4 in the 2820) and will outperform the N2820 in de-interlacing and scaling of lower-resolution content. The integrated 16GB SSD is incredibly snappy - boot up is ridiculously quick on my Chromebox running OpenElec.
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#6
Thanks for all the help, I think a chromebox is the way to go. Was it easy to install openelec ?
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#7
I had no problems installing OpenElec standalone. I'm currently mainly running with a PS3 BD Bluetooth(+IR for Amp and TV) remote. That was easy to pair - though occasionally you need to re-pair. Can't comment on battery life. Because it's bluetooth there is no need for an external receiver.
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#8
Sounds great, I even have ps3 remote kicking around! I've now ordered one! Thanks for all your advice noggin.
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#9
Guide here : http://wiki.xbmc.org/index.php?title=ASUS_Chromebox HP pretty much identical to the Asus (though only one SODIMM slot not two)
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